After a light breakfast early in the morning, we set off on the roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Beforehand, we topped up the car with fuel in Croatia using euros – in Bosnia and Herzegovina, you pay in Convertible Mark (KM), which we didn't have on us yet. We crossed the border at the Ivanica crossing, the closest one from Dubrovnik.
The drive through the mountains
What followed was a feast for the eyes. The road wound up and down through countless hairpin bends, through mountains and forests that were simply stunning – more beautiful than we'd expected. We also got the best possible weather for the drive. The roads were mostly in good condition, with the occasional pothole, nothing too serious.
One thing did bother me personally: some local drivers were reckless, overtaking in completely blind spots. Worth knowing before you drive there yourself – you need to watch not just your own driving, but sometimes other people's recklessness too.
Mostar and the Old Bridge
We picked Mostar for this trip because of its history and its famous bridge. The Old Bridge, Stari Most, was built in 1566, destroyed during the Bosnian War on 9 November 1993, and reopened in 2004. It links the Muslim, or Bosniak, eastern side of the city with the Croatian and Catholic western side, spanning the Neretva river.
Where we stayed: Apartman Centar
We stayed at the absolutely lovely, 100% recommendable Apartman Centar, run by the wonderful Doris and her husband. Two nights cost us €60.78. You get a great room with a kitchen and a large terrace – genuinely excellent value. A fairly steep staircase leads up to the apartment, worth knowing before you book. Parking comes with the place too, handy if you're arriving by car like we did. The location is quiet, yet only a few minutes' walk from the lively centre.
Check availability at Apartman Centar →
Changing money and the SIM card question
After checking in, we went looking for a currency exchange and found Ziraat Bank at Mladena Balorde 2, 88000 Mostar. We changed our euros into Mark there and picked up a SIM card on the spot too, since they sold them right there – 15 KM (around €7.70) back in 2025; today it's 20 KM (around €10.20).
These days, I'd get an eSIM instead, from somewhere like Simbye, Saily or Yesim. Plans start from around €3 for 1GB of data, valid for a week – and you skip the trip to the bank entirely.
Old Town, and a first look at the bridge
During our stay, part of the pedestrian zone in the town centre was dug up for construction work – that should be well in the past by now. The pedestrian zone is packed with souvenir shops, ice cream parlours and restaurants. Our first stop, though, was the famous Old Bridge itself.
A word of caution: both sides of the bridge are paved with cobblestones, which can mean tripping or slipping. In early May, the Neretva's water was probably still too cold for anyone to be jumping off the bridge. Instead, we got a lovely view of the mountains around Mostar, with the river's turquoise water below.
One thing I genuinely appreciated: nobody in the pedestrian zone tried to pressure us into their shop, unlike Istanbul, where that was pretty relentless.
An evening at the barber's – and a tip for the next stop
In the evening I went to a really good barbershop at Trg Ivana Krndelja 27 – my haircut cost 20 KM, around €10.20. The staff there tipped me off about two things worth doing: the Skywalk on Fortica Hill, and the 33-metre Millennium Cross on the other side of the city.
Fortica Skywalk
The Fortica Hill Skywalk is spectacular – a glass floor cantilevered far out over the cliffs. Hopefully you're not afraid of heights, because the view is stunning, if occasionally windy. And it's free – no entry fee, at least as of May 2025.
The Kravice Waterfalls
The next morning we headed to the Kravice Waterfalls. They're beautiful, entry costs 20 KM (around €10 per person). There's plenty of parking, though it's paid, and you're free to wander around and explore different viewpoints. Swimming is allowed, and there's a restaurant on site. It's a good 45km from Mostar, about an hour by car – but not via motorway, so it winds through towns and countryside and can take a while.
Are the waterfalls worth the trip? If you want to tick a bucket-list box, sure. Otherwise, it's a long drive for a fairly modest payoff – that's entirely my own opinion, though, and yours might be completely different.
On the way back, we stopped at the 33-metre Millennium Cross and enjoyed the view of the city from the other side. The drive up is a bit of an adventure, quite narrow in places, but not dangerous. This one's free too.
Silent witnesses of the war
Back at the accommodation, car parked, I went straight into town to see the silent witnesses of the brutal war of the 1990s. Mostar is beautiful and modern. And yet the city keeps the sight of bullet-riddled houses and walls completely unfiltered – walk along many streets and you'll still find buildings marked by bullet holes.
One of the best-known buildings, and one of the city's well-known lost places, is surely the Sniper Tower. Access inside is forbidden, but from the outside you get a clear sense of what played out there in the past.
We really liked Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mostar. It's a country that's still affordable, and it's worth visiting for its history just as much as for its nature. In the final part of this Balkan trip, we carry on to Montenegro.
What This Leg Cost
| Item | for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel in Croatia, 44 l at €1.44/l (assumed as a full tank) | 1 car | approx. €63.36 |
| Accommodation Mostar, Apartman Centar, 2 nights | 2 people | €60.78 |
| Local SIM card, 15 KM (2025 price) | 1 person | around €7.70 |
| Kravice Waterfalls entry, 20 KM p.p. | 2 people | around €20.00 |
All told, around €152. In Bosnia and Herzegovina you pay in Convertible Mark (KM), pegged to the euro at roughly €1 = 1.96 KM – the figures above are converted approximations accordingly. Not included: the barbershop haircut (around €10.20), since that was a personal aside rather than a shared trip expense, and parking at the Kravice Waterfalls, since we no longer have the exact amount for that.
All Booking Links at a Glance
- Accommodation Mostar: booking.com
- eSIM: Simbye · Saily · Yesim
The final part of this trip carries on to Montenegro – more on that soon.
And if reading this left you thinking "I'd love a trip like this, just without doing all the digging myself": that's exactly what I do. The first chat's on me.
